First Comes Love

Brooklyn had to blink once or twice to make sure what she was seeing was true. The test shook in her hands as she started to break down, sobbing until she felt like there were no tears left. Zoey also shed her fair share of tears, but she knew she had to comfort her best friend.

“What am I going to do?” Brooklyn sobbed, her voice sounding feeble. Zoey sat her up, moving a piece of hair from her face.

“You’re going to be strong. And you’re going to get through this, okay?” Zoey said firmly. Brooklyn shook her head.

“I’m nineteen years old…” she said.

“That doesn’t mean you won’t be an awesome mom! Think about it. You can move into an apartment next year. You can still go to school and take care of it,” Zoey said.

“What about Collin?” Brooklyn asked. If there was one thing that Zoey didn’t think about, it was Collin. Better yet, Adrienne.

“You’re going to have to tell him, at least…” Zoey said softly. Brooklyn sighed, wiping her eyes.

“Adrienne’s going to kill me,” Brooklyn said. Zoey hesitated for a moment.

“Don’t worry about her. She’s not the issue right now,” she said.

“She’s going to be an issue when she find out,” Brooklyn responded.

“At this point, you only need to worry about yourself. And Collin,” Zoey said, biting her lip. Brooklyn wrapped her arms around her best friend, hugging her tightly.

“I don’t know what I would do without you…” she sobbed into Zoey’s shoulder. Zoey smiled weakly, hugging her back.

“Well, I’m not going anywhere. Don’t you worry,” she said softly.
********************************

It took a few days for it to sink in, but that weekend, Brooklyn was ready to tell Collin.

“You’re sure he’ll be here, right?” Brooklyn asked Zoey, standing outside the Student Complex. They were holding the annual ‘Relay for Life’ campaign in there this year, and the Theta Brothers were required to send representatives. Naturally, that meant the freshman.

“Definitely. I checked the sign-up sheet at the Theta house. It may have been written on a white board on the fridge, but his name was on it,” Zoey said, trying to ease the tension.

“Are you sure this is the place to do this?” Brooklyn asked, looking around the crowded Multi-Purpose Room. Zoey shook her head.

“No. That’s why you’re going to tell him elsewhere. But the first step is getting him alone,” she said.

“Obviously I’m damn good at this. How do you think I got knocked up in the first place?” Brooklyn mumbled solemnly. Zoey smacked Brooklyn’s arm. “Ow!”

“Stop with those stupid jokes! They’re not funny,” she said, gritting her teeth. Zoey was right, Brooklyn had been making awful remarks like that since she found out; anything pertaining to sex, babies, or being a whore. Surprisingly, those three topics came up in conversation more often than you’d think.

“Sorry…” Brooklyn murmured. Zoey wrapped her arm around Brooklyn’s and entered the crowded room. They searched the sea of familiar faces, trying to not get swept away by the buzz happening around them. For a small school, Clarion Rock could certainly hold its own when it came to campus events. It was rare that any sort of event put on by the University Activities Committee (or UAC, as it was known around campus) had less than 100 people in attendance. So, naturally, it was hard to pick people out of the crowd.

Not for Brooklyn.

She spotted Collin right away. She may have been drunk, but the image of his face was engraved in her memory forever; his eye color, his jaw line… absolutely everything.

“He’s right there. Want me to go with you?” Zoey asked. Brooklyn shook her head.

“No. If I have to do this, I’m going to do it alone,” she said. Zoey nodded, unlinking their arms.

“I’ll be over at the Theta tent. Just come get me if you need me.” She extended herself on her tiptoes, kissed her best friend on the cheek, and floated away.

Brooklyn took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then sighed as she made her way over to Collin. He stood amongst a group of Lacrosse players; he looked like an outcast since he was the only one not wearing their cheesy matching sweatshirts.

“Dude, you’re like a legend,” a short, stocky lacrosse boy said.

“Nah, man. It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Collin said with a smirk on his face.

“Seriously, bro. I envy you! My girl would have flipped shit!” This one was taller, with red-hair.

“Ah, what can I say? I’m good with words,” Collin replied, crossing his arms over his chest. That smirk on his face made Brooklyn sick to her stomach.

“Who was the girl, bro? You gotta tell us. We want in,” Short and Stocky said. At that moment, Brooklyn caught Collin’s attention. A look of guilt flashed over his face, but that damn smirk came right back. He slid Short and Stocky a look that said “Speak-of-the-Devil” and took a step toward Brooklyn, still keeping his posse around him.

“Hey! Uh.. Brooklyn, right?” he asked, looking back at his friends with a smirk.

“Can I talk to you?” she asked softly. Something in her eyes must have said “terror,” because Collin’s smirk was gone in an instant.

“I’ll be right back…” he said to his friends. As they turned back to their conversation, Collin and Brooklyn moved a few steps away from them. “What’s up?”

“Can we.. uhm… go somewhere? I-I have something to tell you,” she mumbled. Collin nodded, obeying her every word. He led her out of the Multi-Purpose Room and down the hall, where a few couches and chairs sat. On a weekday, this area would be packed with students studying away. Being a Friday night, the only occupant was Ryan Dunker, the well-known school stoner, who was clearly passed out.

“Yo. Dude. Beat it,” Collin said, nudging Ryan. With a grunt and a snort, Ryan left, leaving Brooklyn and Collin alone. “Is everything okay?” Brooklyn shook her head, tearing up.

“I-I-…”

“Look, if this has anything to do with Adrienne finding out we hooked up-“

“She found out?” Brooklyn stopped him.

“Yeah, but she said she’s cool with it. I mean, she’s a huge sweetheart, she-“

“Forget it, that’s not the point right now,” Brooklyn said, wiping her eyes.

“Okay, so what is the point?” he asked.

“I’m pregnant.”